Fast-track push for University/ I-75 interchange

Published: Thursday, March 6, 2014 at 9:25 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 6, 2014 at 9:25 p.m.

A remedy to one of the region's biggest traffic headaches is on the verge of fast-track approval by the state, even though it could conflict with Southwest Florida's hosting of the 2017 World Rowing Championships.

The head of the Florida Department of Transportation told Sarasota and Manatee county officials in a Tallahassee meeting Thursday that he would push to start construction on an innovative interchange design at Interstate 75 and University Parkway within a few years. The condition: Sarasota and Manatee county commissions must pass resolutions “firmly” committing to the plan.

That means allowing construction to start before 2017, something officials in both counties said last year that they opposed because of the potential impact on the World Rowing Championships.

But commissioners in both Sarasota and Manatee now say they are willing to get the project started sooner because of growing safety concerns.

They also said they can work around the weeklong rowing competition.

It's a dramatic turn of events, given that just a month ago, the project was not scheduled for construction until after 2036.

Growing traffic snarls, increasing annual accident rates and the fact that a major new mall near the interchange is opening later this year combined to make it clear that the state cannot wait that long, state Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, said.

“It's a severe problem right now, and it is only going to get worse when the mall opens,” said Steube, who was key to getting the commitment on Thursday.

Steube said he now thinks construction could begin within a year if both counties sign on.

In a meeting organized by Steube that included county officials from both Manatee and Sarasota, Florida DOT Secretary Ananth Prasad said he would move the project up on his priority list and work to find funding for it if the counties backed the innovative design that engineers have proposed.

To ease congestion, state highway planners propose a novel $58 million diverging diamond interchange that would be the first of its kind in Florida.

The interchange would have cars sweeping from the righthand side of the road to the left to make easier left turns onto the interstate, with the lanes continuing back to the right side for through traffic.

Transportation experts say that diverging diamond interchanges may look strange at first glance, but the slaloming action moves traffic more efficiently through areas with heavy left-turn movements — as is the case with eastbound traffic on University trying to get onto northbound I-75.

Sarasota County officials had been fighting the concept because they feared its potential to confuse drivers. But County Commissioner Charles Hines said after seeing new video of how a similar interchange near Atlanta works, it is not nearly as intimidating as he once thought.

“It's not that bad,” Hines said Thursday.

While diverging diamonds are new for Florida, they are becoming more common in other states. Missouri opened the first one in 2009 and now has 14, with seven more in development.

Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said she's glad no one has been hurt in recent traffic accidents at the existing interchange, but the impact of those crashes has undoubtedly changed a lot of minds about how long the region can wait for a solution to a growing problem there.

“This is just something we need to do,” Baugh said.

While there is a general agreement that the project needs to start sooner rather than later, key details are unresolved, said Baugh, whose commission district includes Lakewood Ranch.

The state still needs to identify the source of the $58 million in funding, and Sarasota and Manatee counties could still be under pressure to improve nearby intersections.

The Manatee County Commission meets next week, and its Sarasota counterpart the week after, but officials said they were not sure a resolution about the I-75 project could be crafted in time for those sessions. If not, the counties would likely take up the issue in early April.

In December, state DOT officials warned that even with a new interchange, traffic would still snarl without the counties improving intersections along University. That could mean upward of $31 million for changes to its intersections with Cattlemen Road and Market Street in Lakewood Ranch.

Sarasota County Administrator Tom Harmer, who was also at Thursday's Tallahassee meeting, said the dynamics around the interchange are changing, given new commitments to build a road from Lakewood Ranch to Cattlemen and DeSoto roads, and planned routes between University Parkway and Fruitville Road east of I-75.

The interchange, which straddles the Sarasota-Manatee border, is becoming one of the fastest-growing areas in the region, a gateway to Lakewood Ranch, which is home to more than 20,000 people.

The traffic is only expected to get more intense with more than 40,000 international tourists coming for the rowing championships, and the influence of the new destination mall and some 5,000 more homes planned for that area.

<p>A remedy to one of the region's biggest traffic headaches is on the verge of fast-track approval by the state, even though it could conflict with Southwest Florida's hosting of the 2017 World Rowing Championships.</p><p>The head of the Florida Department of Transportation told Sarasota and Manatee county officials in a Tallahassee meeting Thursday that he would push to start construction on an innovative interchange design at Interstate 75 and University Parkway within a few years. The condition: Sarasota and Manatee county commissions must pass resolutions “firmly” committing to the plan.</p><p>That means allowing construction to start before 2017, something officials in both counties said last year that they opposed because of the potential impact on the World Rowing Championships. </p><p>But commissioners in both Sarasota and Manatee now say they are willing to get the project started sooner because of growing safety concerns. </p><p>They also said they can work around the weeklong rowing competition.</p><p>It's a dramatic turn of events, given that just a month ago, the project was not scheduled for construction until after 2036.</p><p>Growing traffic snarls, increasing annual accident rates and the fact that a major new mall near the interchange is opening later this year combined to make it clear that the state cannot wait that long, state Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, said.</p><p>“It's a severe problem right now, and it is only going to get worse when the mall opens,” said Steube, who was key to getting the commitment on Thursday.</p><p>Steube said he now thinks construction could begin within a year if both counties sign on.</p><p>In a meeting organized by Steube that included county officials from both Manatee and Sarasota, Florida DOT Secretary Ananth Prasad said he would move the project up on his priority list and work to find funding for it if the counties backed the innovative design that engineers have proposed.</p><p>To ease congestion, state highway planners propose a novel $58 million diverging diamond interchange that would be the first of its kind in Florida.</p><p>The interchange would have cars sweeping from the righthand side of the road to the left to make easier left turns onto the interstate, with the lanes continuing back to the right side for through traffic.</p><p>Transportation experts say that diverging diamond interchanges may look strange at first glance, but the slaloming action moves traffic more efficiently through areas with heavy left-turn movements — as is the case with eastbound traffic on University trying to get onto northbound I-75.</p><p>Sarasota County officials had been fighting the concept because they feared its potential to confuse drivers. But County Commissioner Charles Hines said after seeing new video of how a similar interchange near Atlanta works, it is not nearly as intimidating as he once thought.</p><p>“It's not that bad,” Hines said Thursday.</p><p>While diverging diamonds are new for Florida, they are becoming more common in other states. Missouri opened the first one in 2009 and now has 14, with seven more in development.</p><p>Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said she's glad no one has been hurt in recent traffic accidents at the existing interchange, but the impact of those crashes has undoubtedly changed a lot of minds about how long the region can wait for a solution to a growing problem there.</p><p>“This is just something we need to do,” Baugh said.</p><p>While there is a general agreement that the project needs to start sooner rather than later, key details are unresolved, said Baugh, whose commission district includes Lakewood Ranch.</p><p>The state still needs to identify the source of the $58 million in funding, and Sarasota and Manatee counties could still be under pressure to improve nearby intersections.</p><p>The Manatee County Commission meets next week, and its Sarasota counterpart the week after, but officials said they were not sure a resolution about the I-75 project could be crafted in time for those sessions. If not, the counties would likely take up the issue in early April.</p><p>In December, state DOT officials warned that even with a new interchange, traffic would still snarl without the counties improving intersections along University. That could mean upward of $31 million for changes to its intersections with Cattlemen Road and Market Street in Lakewood Ranch.</p><p>Sarasota County Administrator Tom Harmer, who was also at Thursday's Tallahassee meeting, said the dynamics around the interchange are changing, given new commitments to build a road from Lakewood Ranch to Cattlemen and DeSoto roads, and planned routes between University Parkway and Fruitville Road east of I-75.</p><p>The interchange, which straddles the Sarasota-Manatee border, is becoming one of the fastest-growing areas in the region, a gateway to Lakewood Ranch, which is home to more than 20,000 people.</p><p>The traffic is only expected to get more intense with more than 40,000 international tourists coming for the rowing championships, and the influence of the new destination mall and some 5,000 more homes planned for that area.</p>